Entry #481

I cut my knuckles hitting the bag again. It was from a scrape, not repeated pounding like in the circumstances of the picture.

Box squats (barefoot):
8 X 3     225 lbs.

Romanian deadlifts:
5 X 8     165 lbs.

Weighted crunches:
5 X 12   50 lbs. of plates
> Each rep held for three seconds.

Crush Trainer:
5 X 5

Entry #480

I was dancing around and hitting the bag at the gym today when a bunch of little kids ran in the room and started yelling "ROCKY!" behind me. I was going to scold them, but then I thought that they might actually be calling me Rocky Marciano instead of Sylvester Stallone Rocky (they weren't, but I'll give them the meak benefit of the doubt so they look good). One of them, who couldn't have been more than three years old, ran up and started hitting it when I was taking a breather. I showed him how to punch it properly, and to keep his free hand up when he hits. I even did the Ali shuffle for him, which is normally top-secret. He's a lucky boy. When I was his age, I was punching at air in a karate class.

That was the warm-up.

Bench press:
2 X 15   45 lbs.
4 X 3     135, 185, 225, 255 lbs.
1 X 2     265 lbs.
> Still short of the mark, but a substantial improvement over last week - 20 lbs., to be precise (and technically, more, when considering the extra set). I'm going to blast through this.

Overhead dumbbell press:
1 X 15   15 lb. dumbbells
1 X 8     80 lb. dumbbells
1 X 5     80 lb. dumbbells
> I slipped in the set-up on the last set. I keep the dumbbells on my knees and then kick up to raise them above me, but I wasn't paying attention and didn't use the momentum properly, so I had to practically curl the thing up. Affected performance.

Bent-over rows:
2 X 10   165, 165 lbs.
1 X 5     165 lbs.
1 X 8     135 lbs.
> Completely burned out on this. I'll just start at 155 next time.

Front raises:
3 X 16   25 lb. plates
> Killed the forearms.

Abdominal circuit

It was a little frustrating being challenged by weights I've conquered before, especially on bench press, but moreso than that, I like the challenge and the meaning of redemption. I remember a more drastic rut I was in when I had dropped from 185 lbs. to 170 a few years back and lost a significant amount of strength. In retrospect, these circumstances are worth it. For what I lost then, I gained patience and an ironclad mind. The body does what the mind tells it, not vice-versa.

Final note: started loading on creatine today.

Entry #479

I did a lot of bagwork yesterday and today, and my arms felt like lead. I don't know what was wrong, but I wasn't exploding out like I could before. The hits were hard - I've made significant improvements in learning to throw my bodyweight behind blows - but they were slower than usual, without much snap. It's probably DOMS from jumping into such intense lifting after an amount of time off, but I'll keep working this.

I'm actively cutting weight now. I've decided that I won't mind dropping down to even 190 if I can keep, and indeed, improve upon, my strength. Then, I can bulk back up to 230 and beyond with everything I've gained. The problem is that I lose weight so quickly that when I actually try to cut, I overshoot by 10 lbs. or so. I'm going to eat clean, but big  in order to keep as minimal a calorie deficit (double negative) as possible.

Entry #478

Deadlifts:
6 X 5     135, 185, 225, 275, 275, 275 lbs.
> Far away from my old number of 405, but this is still a milestone. It was easy, too. I'll stick with this for another two weeks, and then switch to 315.

Lunges:
1 X 8     60 lb. dumbbells
2 X 8     75 lb. dumbbells

Good mornings:
3 X 8     135 lbs.

Weighted crunches:
5 X 12   50 lbs. of plates

Entry #477

I began in the afternoon with hitting the heavy bag. I've still no access to my camera. My legs are sore enough that I had difficulty getting good traction, so my hooks didn't have quite as much power leaned into them as usual. The bag stand didn't even tip over today. I'll get him next time.

Clean and jerk:
6 X 3     135 lbs.
> Do not let the back waver under pressure. Keep tight. More from laxity than any actual fatigue.

Skullcrushers:
4 X 8     50 lb. dumbbells
> Mild tendonitis feeling on the first set. Warm-up more.

Pull-ups:
5 X 8    

Dumbbell shrugs:
1 X 10   95 lb. dumbbells
1 X 12   115 lb. dumbbells
1 X 12   95 lb. dumbbells
> A girl and her dad came right in front of me and started doing endless sets of lat raises while chatting. They were blocking the big 115's, and I was about to leave anyways, so I just went back to the 95's, rather than ask them to move and then attemp to stomp past and through the tiny space back to my spot with 115 lbs. in each hand. Neither weight posed much challenge.

Entry #476

This is yesterday's recording:

Box squats:
5 X 3     245 lbs.
> I'll hand it to them, there're a nice set of sturdy stools varying in height next to the rack that serve this purpose perfectly. It's much less cumbersome than stacking plates.

Romanian deadlifts:
5 X 8     155 lbs.
> Intentionally light. My back was too stiff to allow a full ROM, and I had to bend my knees slightly more than need be.

Weighted crunches:
5 X 12   50 lbs. of plates
> Each rep held for three seconds.

CoC Trainer:
5 X 5
> Held the last rep of the last set for five seconds. Easy, but I'll continue to work with this for a few more weeks. My hands are usually sore from all the bagwork I do.

Shadowboxing

Today, I did another three-lapper to LGHS and back. My sweatshirt had just come out of the dryer, so it was scorching hot in it, and combined with the fact that it was warmer today than of recent weather circumstances and my legs felt like lead from the squats yesterday, it was one of the hardest runs I've been on. I did not waver, though.

Entry #475

I'm down to 212. I've lost more than 20 lbs. That's not of much concern to me; I can bulk back up at my own choosing. What matters is strength.

Bench press:
2 X 15   45 lbs.
3 X 3     135, 185, 225 lbs.
1 X 2     245 lbs.
> This is the only lift that suffered, and suffer it did. Still, I'm not convinced it's from losing gains just yet. As I foresaw last entry, I was still sore coming into the session, and perhaps more importantly, there's much about the movement to become accustomed to once again. In any case, this number won't stay like that for long.

Overhead dumbbell press:
1 X 15   15 lb. dumbbells
1 X 10   45 lb. dumbbells
1 X 5     80 lb. dumbbells

Bent-over rows:
5 X 10   65, 135, 155, 155, 155 lbs.
> This dumb gym has two giant plates that look like 45's, but are actually hollow, plastic 10 pounders. It's funny to use them and add an entire wheel onto the bar for basically nothing.

Front raises:
3 X 12   25 lb. plates
> Substituting weight plates for dumbbells kills the forearms. I like it.

Abdominal circuit

Entry #474

I couldn't film anything today because my camera is MIA. Someone else must have it.

Today was painfully easy, which is saying something because I did three laps to LGHS and back again. I desperately want to go out and train right now, but it's late and I need to sleep for the next day. At least it's in anticipation of more training. My arms are still sore from Tuesday, so I may not be able to bench as much as I intend to tomorrow. 

Entry #473

My triceps are still sore from Tuesday, but I fought through it and prevailed in bag training today. I'm going to start filming my performance from tomorrow again. The last series of videos I recorded was of great benefit to me.

I'm forcing myself through longer rounds, and it's working. I don't even bother timing them, but I will tomorrow for the sake of record. All I did was punch until my side felt like it was about to explode. I gritted my teeth and kept working. Immediately after I finished, I ripped off my gloves and jogged over to Agony Hill, where I sprinted up to the top and ran back home.

Entry #472

Iron, at last.

It's an extremely disorganized gym. There's no one theme for each room, except for the cardio area. Free weights are mixed with the machines. There are two power-racks, which I prefer over squat-racks, but one of them is a wobbling piece of weakling. During hise shrugs, I reracked only 155 lbs., and the loose supports slipped out, crashing everything into the ground (which isn't rubberized in that room, unlike the entire facility of my previous gym). The other one looks sturdy enough, at least. And there is a punching bag, albeit a tiny, flimsy stand-mounted one.

There's also barely any space to walk. If the place were any more crowded, it would be unusable.

Everything was light for today's session.

Bag warm-up

Military press:
5 X 5
135 lbs.

Skullcrushers:
4 X 8
50 lb. dumbbells

Pull-ups:
5 X 5

Hammer curls:
2 X 8
55 lb. dumbbells

Hise shrugs:
2 X 15

I prefer my old option, but this has what I need, and that's all I care about. And, luckily, they don't play any music.

Entry #471

I've finally applied for a membership at the Athletic Club. From the second tour, it looks like it has everything I need. Even better, barely anyone uses it. Of all the times I've been here, I've seen only one person in the free-weight rooms.

Closing time was within minutes, so I wasn't able to train there tonight. By the schedule I've concocted so far, my next session will be on Tuesday. They don't have any speed or punching bags, like the old gym, so there's little incentive in going tomorrow, other than the fact that membership is expensive enough that I want to get as much out of it as possible. I may drop by and shoot some hoops or something.

Entry #470

On a brief note, on the verge of succumbing to sleep (just kidding -- I succumb to nothing; I'll choose when I want to), I ran three laps to LGHS today, as opposed to my usual, and quite tiresome, two. My conditioning is exploding rapidly.

Ent

Entry #469

I've concluded that it would be in the best interest of my schedule to move two of my lifting days on the weekend in order to avoid conflicts. I'll begin ME day this Saturday.

Entry #468

I've mostly been indulging my mind with reading in preparation for tomorrow. I intend to continue my routine where I left off.

And as I renew my driver's license, gaining me regular transportation to Dreamland Boxing Gym, I'm organizing what my schedule will consist of next semester. I had everything typed out to post, but I made enough adjustments to the point that I still have much to work on. It will be packed, regardless. Structuring this requires long-term strategy.

Entry #467

I've obtained access to a free day pass at the LG Athletic Club through confidential and highly illegal means (read: they have a printable coupon on their website). This looks to be more apt for my situation. If I do sign with them, there's no contract involved, so I can switch gyms at any point if I find a cheaper solution.

I went for a run to the video store and back. It felt like nothing. Just a few months prior, I couldn't even make it halfway without my ankles dying, and that was at a lower weight.

Entry #466

Today, I went to Anastasia with the intent of lifting. I was told that it opens in a month. Apparently, many others bought into their date (the latest of several), because there was a receptionist actually waiting outside at the gate to inform people, as they stepped out of their vehicles in the parking lot, that it's not open.

Forget this.

I wonder how much power I've lost from these buffoons. It won't matter, in the end.

Training on the heavy bag is bringing newfound intensity, and I'm tiring on it extremely fast. I'll keep this up until I can cruise at this level. The standing bag made for a good warm-up.

One last note: I forfeited a good job opportunity as a journalist for a website because I refused to advertise for them, which goes against my principles. Why would I recommend something to others that I hardly know anything about? I applied for another job at a local sporting goods store, but I received an email infoming me that they have no openings, and that they're even over-stocked in terms of workers. For some reason, the manager wants to meet me. Hopefully, he'll rip off his cleanly-pressed suit, jump over the store counter, and engage me in fatal combat without warning. I plan on stopping by after I pay another visit to the athletic club by the high school.

Entry #465

George and I walked over to Vasona and spent the evening/night smashing dead tree trunks in half over at the dam. I ran to and from his house both ways, and my level of cardio is the best it's ever been.